FTA-TV Game of Thrones - season 8

[estibador]

The reason we hold GoT to such a high standard is because that's the standard it set - and achieved regularly - for most of its run. Seasons 1-5 were some of the best television ever made. These seasons truly were magical storytelling... In contrast, seasons 7 & 8 were some of the most visually spectacular but woefully written television ever made. Yes, it's unfair to hold every show to a gold standard - but it's not unfair when the show spent most of its run operating at that level.

That's a fair enough comment and I agree the last season in particular lacked the same feel as earlier seasons. I don't think it was anywhere near as bad as the overly dramatic vitriol thrown at it though.

 

[SM]

Probably because S6 wasn't shortened, and condensed to the point that the writing became unintelligible. S6 told 1 season's worth of story in 10 episodes. S7 & S8 attempted to fit 5 seasons of story into 13 episodes - it's no wonder they failed miserably.

But above you only said Seasons 1-5 were great?

 

[Roobs321]

absolute garbage which made no sense at the time, and still doesn't - think resurrected Dothraki hordes and laser guided ballistas (and many other examples).

Ah yes, the pedantic manchild who over-analyses week-per-week to find obscure stuff to vitriol.

I'm guessing many final season haters have never seen a mini-series before, which often adapt things like lengthy books into several hours of television. The last thing we want is everything explained to the audience, the audience has to follow the clues and piece it together a little themselves.

 

[Roobs321]

attempted to fit 5 seasons of story into 13 episodes - it's no wonder they failed miserably.

Lol, says who? Just because Frodo and co took forever to get to Bree in the Fellowship book, or waited 17 years to start their journey, doesn't mean the rest of the story should treat the passage of time so lavishly. There comes a point when the walking to and fro through the woods just has to be condensed for narrative sake. Time needn't be paced at the exact same speed for an entire television show. These stories spread over multiple books will tend to get more confident in themselves and less prosy as they go along.

 

[FUS_RO_DAH]

HOT TAKE!

... Season 6 is miles better than 7 & 8 but still has a loooooot of problems. It really shows the start of the decline in the quality of writing, and D&D's preference for spectacle over substance. I had a lot of problems with it when it aired.

The Arya storyline is as much of a mess as the much-reviled Dorne plot from season 5. Come at me.

Gotta give them props for the Hodor reveal though. They handled that pretty damn well.

Battle of the Bastards is hugely overrated. In my opinion. Feel free to throw abuse at me now.

 

[bourbons]

That's a fair enough comment and I agree the last season in particular lacked the same feel as earlier seasons. I don't think it was anywhere near as bad as the overly dramatic vitriol thrown at it though.

Yeah, I'd have no issues recommending the show to anyone as one of the greatest of all time (if anyone was still around who hadn't seen it lol). Final season was poor in comparison no doubt, but not the afront to humanity some claim.

Doesn't erase what came before in any case.

 

[SM]

HOT TAKE!

... Season 6 is miles better than 7 & 8 but still has a loooooot of problems. It really shows the start of the decline in the quality of writing, and D&D's preference for spectacle over substance. I had a lot of problems with it when it aired.

The Arya storyline is as much of a mess as the much-reviled Dorne plot from season 5. Come at me.

Gotta give them props for the Hodor reveal though. They handled that pretty damn well.

Battle of the Bastards is hugely overrated. In my opinion. Feel free to throw abuse at me now.

Arya's storyline is fine and is no different to plenty of other sub-plots in earlier seasons. How about Dany spending years just journeying around liberating people? The books were as convoluted or boring as the show at parts.

 

[Crimson Azure]

Almost a year to the day since the first episode of the greatest season of the greatest show ever was aired.

Can believe it has been a year. Started a re watch and am currently up to season 4. Haven't decided if I'll re watch season 8. I've watched every episode more than once except the finale.

Seems not much has changed towards the final two seasons, it doesn't seem like to has softened peoples viewpoint.

 

[SM]

Almost a year to the day since the first episode of the greatest season of the greatest show ever was aired.

Can believe it has been a year. Started a re watch and am currently up to season 4. Haven't decided if I'll re watch season 8. I've watched every episode more than once except the finale.

Seems not much has changed towards the final two seasons, it doesn't seem like to has softened peoples viewpoint.

We're up to Season 6 on our re-watch but got sidetracked with a West Wing binge.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

How the show ended has made me not want to watch any of it ever again, to be honest. Same with Dexter. What’s the point?

 

[SM]

How the show ended has made me not want to watch any of it ever again, to be honest. Same with Dexter. What’s the point?

The point is the journey not the destination (not that I hate the destination)?

 

[Carbine Chaos]

The point is the journey not the destination (not that I hate the destination)?

Just can’t bring myself to do it. Don’t want to watch a show I loved get butchered twice by two dolts who just wanted out.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

I can believe it's been a year. Within days of the final episode it felt like everyone had moved on. Deeply flawed final season out of step with what had come before. This show was big enough to flog tons of licensed merchandise... imagine trying to sell that stuff now.

 

[peternorth]

Almost a year to the day since the first episode of the greatest season of the greatest show ever was aired.

Can believe it has been a year. Started a re watch and am currently up to season 4. Haven't decided if I'll re watch season 8. I've watched every episode more than once except the finale.

Seems not much has changed towards the final two seasons, it doesn't seem like to has softened peoples viewpoint.

Season 8? Starte april 14?

 

[Crimson Azure]

Season 8? Starte april 14?

I'm going to lock in B.

 

[Father Jack]

Season 8 is fine as long you don't care about things making sense.

 

[SM]

Season 8 is fine as long you don't care about things making sense.

Except it does make sense it just didn't give the answers people expected.

 

[Richard Pryor]

I can believe it's been a year. Within days of the final episode it felt like everyone had moved on. Deeply flawed final season out of step with what had come before. This show was big enough to flog tons of licensed merchandise... imagine trying to sell that stuff now.

Yeah, thought of this when I saw the thread. With the prequels Star Wars managed to release three poorly received films in a row and it didn't damage the juggernaut. With Season 8 GoT obliterated itself from the popular consciousness entirely. I don't think there has ever been a show which managed to diminish itself and its legacy so completely in such a short amount of time.

Honestly I think the interviews with Benioff and Weiss are to blame, as they explicitly debunked a lot of the excuses and head canons people were using to support the Season, and generally made it very difficult to come to any conclusion other than that they were incompetent at putting the season together.

 

[Richard Pryor]

The point is the journey not the destination (not that I hate the destination)?

The issue is that GoT is, at least to me, a show that was driven almost entirely by the destination. It isn't episodic at all, and every great moment is made great because it is in the context of a narrative locomotive being pushed forwards.

 

[Father Jack]

Except it does make sense it just didn't give the answers people expected.

Lord Varys suddenly being so stupid that I'm not sure if he just wasn't committing suicide by dragon? The Dothraki being wiped out one week and then being very much not wiped out the next? Those scorpions being deadly one week and useless the next? That's just a couple of things that made no sense to me, but good luck to anyone who thought it did.

 

[Dazza the Viking]

Two of my all time favourite shows Game of Thrones and Lost, both got butchered towards the end.

 

[Richard Pryor]

Lord Varys suddenly being so stupid that I'm not sure if he just wasn't committing suicide by dragon? The Dothraki being wiped out one week and then being very much not wiped out the next? Those scorpions being deadly one week and useless the next? That's just a couple of things that made no sense to me, but good luck to anyone who thought it did.

Another one was the iron fleet taking Dany by surprise. Although I suppose it does make sense with the unexpected answer that one of the writers helpfully explained. That Dany forgot about the fleet.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Yeah, thought of this when I saw the thread. With the prequels Star Wars managed to release three poorly received films in a row and it didn't damage the juggernaut. With Season 8 GoT obliterated itself from the popular consciousness entirely. I don't think there has ever been a show which managed to diminish itself and its legacy so completely in such a short amount of time.

Star Wars can fail repeatedly and still come back because of childhood nostalgia. Even people who didn't see it in 1977-83 were generally kids when they saw it later. Game of Thrones is never going to have that as it's very much not something for kids to see.

It will be interesting to see how HBO market and advertise the prequel series.

 

[SM]

The issue is that GoT is, at least to me, a show that was driven almost entirely by the destination. It isn't episodic at all, and every great moment is made great because it is in the context of a narrative locomotive being pushed forwards.

Disagree almost 100%. The plot was always very much like something like The Sopranos, in that we were seeing an excerpt of these people and this land's existence, and we popped in at a particular point, and popped out at another, the journey is the essence of the show. The dynamics of the various families and allegiances, the internal family politics, the external alliances and wars, the mythos, the belief system, and culture, all existed before the show starts and after it ends. We're there to see a snapshot of it, and the journey was the essence of the show.

 

[SM]

Lord Varys suddenly being so stupid that I'm not sure if he just wasn't committing suicide by dragon? The Dothraki being wiped out one week and then being very much not wiped out the next? Those scorpions being deadly one week and useless the next? That's just a couple of things that made no sense to me, but good luck to anyone who thought it did.

Yep they make no sense to you, that doesn't mean they make no sense. And you're holding the show up to a bizarre, warped, standard if you don't think these issues exist in any show and particularly the early seasons of Thrones.